Drug prevention for young people with social,emotional and behavioural difficulties attending special education provision

The levels of drug use amongst school‐aged young people have risen over the past decade. Prevention initiatives have been developed using empirical evidence obtained from school‐based surveys. The empirical evidence base of drug use amongst young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) attending special education provision is very limited. The implications of this knowledge gap for addressing drug use amongst these young people are explored in this paper. Proposals for the way forward are suggested, for developing a framework for targeted evidence‐based interventions for young people attending emotional and behavioural difficulty units.     

MBA,上还是不上？

If you＇re thinking of getting an MBA, you＇re not alone. According to the MBA Association, more than 100,000 new MBAs enter the work force every year.     

Non-accidental head injury in New Zealand: The outcome of referral to statutory authorities

ObjectivesTo describe the outcome of referral to the statutory authorities for infants under 2 years with non-accidental head injury (NAHI), and to establish whether the authorities held sufficient information to develop a risk profile for these cases.MethodsRetrospective review of cases admitted to hospital in Auckland, New Zealand from 1988 to 1998. Records from the hospital admission, child protective services and Police were reviewed, up to 19 years from diagnosis.ResultsOf 39 infants, 33 survived to leave hospital. Documentation of risk factors was erratic, and sometimes incongruent between agencies. Inter-agency case conferences took place in 17/39 (44%). The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services (CYF) used an informal family agreement to secure safety in 15/33 survivors (45%). Family Group Conferences occurred in 17/33 (52%). Nine of 33 were placed permanently outside the home (27%), two (6%) with unrelated caregivers. Charges were laid in 18/39 cases (46%). Fifteen cases came to trial, with 14 convictions (36%). Of the survivors, 44% were later renotified to CYF. There was no obvious relationship between type of intervention and re-notification.ConclusionsEnsuring the safety of an infant with NAHI, and identifying and taking appropriate action with regard to the offender, are complex tasks. In New Zealand, data collection is often incomplete and inter-agency practice and collaboration is variable. Although the rate of prosecution was relatively high by international standards, many children were later notified again for further concerns of abuse or neglect, suggesting that our interventions have been only partially successful.Practice implicationsThis paper suggests that all infants admitted to hospital with non-accidental head injury should become part of a prospective inter-agency research study, using a standardised data collection instrument. This should include the systematic collection of all data known or suspected to be associated with risk of child abuse, and incorporate long-term prospective follow-up, regardless of child protective or legal outcomes. Without large numbers followed prospectively and according to sound methodology, it is difficult to prove which forms of intervention are better than others at reducing the risk of further abuse.     

‘Confessing to wilful disobedience’: an ethnographic study of deaf people’s experience of Catholic religious schooling in the Republic of Ireland*

This ethnographic study examines deaf people’s experience of the Roman Catholic Sacrament of Confession in two Catholic schools for deaf children in the Republic of Ireland from 1950 to 1990. The article fills a gap in Catholic deaf education literature that fails to uncover the experiences of deaf children. It provides space for their storied lives based on a total of 10 loosely structured individual interviews conducted with a purposeful sample of deaf adult participants who were past pupils of Catholic schools. Using ethnographic data, the study illuminates the views of participants concerning the learning obstacles created by a school policy dominated by oralism which prohibited use of Irish Sign Language. The article uncovers children’s experiences of the Sacrament of Penance for disobeying classroom rules against signing. Participants found their schooling experiences exemplify notions of stigma and stereotyping. As children, their response was to either subvert or submit to their school’s policy and religious practice. The findings make a useful contribution to current debates on language issues pertaining to teaching, learning and communication in deaf education. This paper concludes that, although heavily stigmatised in the past, Irish Sign Language has an important role in cultivating equitable access to Religious Education.     

College Match and Undermatch: Assessing Student Preferences,College Proximity,and Inequality in Post-College Outcomes

Recently, multiple studies have focused on the phenomenon of “undermatching”—when students attend a college for which they are overqualified, as measured by test scores and grades. The extant literature suggests that students who undermatch fail to maximize their potential. However, gaps remain in our knowledge about how student preferences—such as a desire to attend college close to home—influence differential rates of undermatching. Moreover, previous research has not directly tested whether and to what extent students who undermatch experience more negative post-college outcomes than otherwise similar students who attend “match” colleges. Using ELS:2002, we find that student preferences for low-cost, nearby colleges, particularly among low-income students, are associated with higher rates of undermatching even among students who are qualified to attend a “very selective” institution. However, this relationship is weakened when students live within 50 miles of a match college, demonstrating that proximity matters. Our results show that attending a selective postsecondary institution does influence post-college employment and earnings, with less positive results for students who undermatch as compared with peers who do not. Our findings demonstrate the importance of non-academic factors in shaping college decisions and post-college outcomes, particularly for low-income students.     

Randomized controlled trial of effectiveness of pedometers on general practitioners' attitudes to engagement in and promotion of physical activity

Abstract

Pedometers have been identified as a tool for health professionals to promote physical activity. This study, which aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of wearing a pedometer on general practitioners' attitudes to promoting physical activity, was a pragmatic, multi-centred, randomized controlled trial within a primary care trust in England. The participants were 102 general practitioners (GPs). Eighty-five (48 males, 37 females) of the GPs completed pre and post questionnaires, 43 of whom were in the intervention group. Statistical analysis revealed no significant changes between the control and intervention groups for attitude to engage in physical activity (t ₈₃ = 1.13, CI ?0.362 to 0.099) or attitude to promote physical activity in their patients (t ₈₃ = 1.7, CI ?0.593 to 0.045). A higher volume of walking was significantly correlated with a more positive attitude to engage in physical activity (r = 0.58, P < 0.01) but not with a more positive attitude to promoting physical activity. Wearing a pedometer had no significant effect on GPs' attitudes to engaging in physical activity or promoting physical activity in their patients.     

The Tour de France and the doping issue

Susan Brownell, Training the Body for China: Sport in the Moral Order of the People's Republic (Chicago: the University of Chicago Press, 1995). Pp.339, illustrations, index. $18.95. ISBN 0–226–07647–4.

Donald G. Jones, with Elaine L. Daly, Sports Ethics in America: A Bibliography, 1970–1990 (Series: Bibliographies and Indexes in American History, No.21). (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1992). Pp.xxii + 291. $55.00. ISBN 0–313–27767–2.

Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français, Pour un humanisme du sport. Après un siècle d'Olympisme (Paris, CNOSF‐Editions Revue EPS, 1994). Pp.254.

Youcef Fates, Sport et Tiers‐Monde (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1994). Collection Pratiques corporelles. Pp.214.

Nick Evangelista (ed.), The Encyclopedia of the Sword (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1995). Pp.xxiv + 690. $79.50. ISBN 0–313–27896–2.

George B. Kirsch (ed.), Sports in North America: A Documentary History. Vol. 4, Sports in War, Revival and Expansion, 1860–1880. Gulf Breeze, FL: Academic International Press, 1995. Pp.xvi + 402, bibliography. ISBN 0–87569–135–8.

Eric M. Leifer, Making the Majors: The Transformation of Team Sports in America (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995). Pp.xiv + 377.

David L. Porter (ed.), African‐American Sports Greats: A Biographical Dictionary (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press). Pp.ix + 429. $59.95. ISBN 0–313–28987–5.

Sol White, History of Colored Baseball: with other documents on the early Black Game, 1886–1936, introduced by Jerry Malloy (University of Nebraska Press, a Bison Book, 1996). Pp.187. $12.00. ISBN 0–8032–9783–1. Steve Fireovid and Mark Winegardner, The 26th Man: One Minor League Pitcher's Pursuit of a Dream. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, a Bison Book, 1991). Pp.236. $12.95. ISBN 0–8032–6891–2.

Donald J. Ross, Golf Has Never Failed Me: The Lost Commentaries of Legendary Golf Architect Donald J. Ross (Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, 1996). Pp.xi + 251, Illustrations, photographs. $29.95. ISBN 1–886947–1‐4.

Sidney Lewis Matthew, Life and Times of Bobby Jones (Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, 1995), photographs, illustrations, letters. $49.95. ISBN 1–886947–02–3.

Curt Sampson, Hogan (Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press, 1996). Pp.ix + 251, photographs, bibliography, index. $24.95. ISBN 1–55853–387–7.

Andrew Ritchie, Major Taylor: The Extraordinary Career of a Champion Bicycle Racer (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996). Pp.303. $15.95. ISBN 0–80188–5303–6.

Scott Martin, Killing Time: Leisure and Culture in South Western Pennsylvania 1800–1850 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995). $29.95. ISBN 0–8229–3916–9.

Joseph Oxendine, American Indian Sports Heritage (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995; first published in 1988 with Human Kinetics Books). $16.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–8032–8609–0.     

Threshold frequency of an electrically induced cramp increases following a repeated,localized fatiguing exercise

Abstract

Though clinical observations and laboratory data provide some support for the neuromuscular imbalance theory of the genesis of exercise-associated muscle cramps, no direct evidence has been published. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of local muscle fatigue on the threshold frequency of an electrically induced muscle cramp. To determine baseline threshold frequency, a cramp was electrically induced in the flexor hallucis brevis of 16 apparently healthy participants (7 males, 9 females; age 25.1 ± 4.8 years). The testing order of control and fatigue conditions was counterbalanced. In the control condition, participants rested in a supine position for 30 min followed by another cramp induction to determine post-threshold frequency. In the fatigue condition, participants performed five bouts of great toe curls at 60% one-repetition maximum to failure with 1 min rest between bouts followed immediately by a post-threshold frequency measurement. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and simple main effects testing showed post-fatigue threshold frequency (32.9 ± 11.7 Hz) was greater (P < 0.001) than pre-fatigue threshold frequency (20.0 ± 7.7 Hz). An increase in threshold frequency seems to demonstrate a decrease in one's propensity to cramp following the fatigue exercise regimen used. These results contradict the proposed theory that suggests cramp propensity should increase following fatigue. However, differences in laboratory versus clinical fatiguing exercise and contributions from other sources, as well as the notion of a graded response to fatiguing exercise, on exercise-associated muscle cramp and electrically induced muscle cramp should be considered.     

Children's Estimations of the Sizes of the Continents

Curriculum changes in geography have focused increasing attention on children's knowledge and understanding of global spatial relationships. Map projections have become fashionable once more in geographical education, which also raises issues of the cartographic representation of the relative proportions of the land masses. In this study, 62 children were asked to estimate the sizes of the continents in relation to Europe, by selecting from a range of cut‐out continents of different sizes. The results indicate that the size of Asia was underestimated and the sizes of Australasia and Antarctica were overestimated. Possible reasons for this are discussed and some teaching approaches suggested.     

Teacher demand: crisis what crisis?

This paper is based on two studies of teacher recruitment and retention commissioned by the General Teaching Council of Wales and the ESRC. Using official statistics from a variety of secondary sources, it shows trends over time in teacher numbers in England and Wales, and examines teacher vacancies, pupil‐teacher ratios and teacher wastage. It concludes that although individual indicators, examined in isolation, are an inadequate basis for assessments of the situation, there is no evidence in the data of any ‘crisis’ of teacher supply or demand in Wales (or indeed most of England). There are regional, occasional and subject‐specific disparities, but there are now more teachers than ever before, while the number of pupils in schools is falling. The paper, therefore, considers a variety of possible explanations for the widely‐held belief that there is a serious shortage of teachers.